And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. And if a heavily laden soul calls [another] to [carry some of] its load, nothing of it will be carried, even if he should be a close relative. You can only warn those who fear their Lord unseen and have established prayer. And whoever purifies himself only purifies himself for [the benefit of] his soul. And to Allāh is the [final] destination.
Verse 18 of Surah Fatir (35:18), a Meccan surah, is in juz 22, on page 436 of the mushaf. Read it in Arabic with its transliteration, translations and tafsir, and listen to it recited by 74 reciters.
Listen to verse 18 of Surah Fatir
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Tafsir of verse 18
Al-Mukhtasar
And no soul will carry the sin of another, but rather every sinning soul will carry its own sin. And if a soul who has been burdened with carrying its sin, calls someone to carry some of its sins, nothing of its sins will be carried, even if the one who is being asked is a close relative. O Messenger, you can only warn of Allah’s punishment those who fear their Lord in private and complete the prayer in the most perfect way, for they are the ones who will take heed from your warning. whoever is purified from his sins, the greatest of them being polythiesm, then his purification will only benefit himself when he returns to his Lord, And Allah is not in any need for His slaves obedience. To Allah is the return on the day of judgment for the reckoning and recompense.
No bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another. If a heavily-laden soul calls for help to bear its burden, nothing of it will be carried, even if he is a close relative. You can only warn those who fear their Lord unseen6 and establish prayer. Whoever purifies himself, he only does so for his own benefit. To Allah is the final return.
Notes
[6] Without seeing Him or when they are in private.
And no bearer of burdens shall bear another’s burden; and if one heavily laden calls another to (bear) his load, nothing of it will be lifted even though he be near of kin. You (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) can warn only those who fear their Lord unseen and perform As-Salât (Iqâmat-as-Salât). And he who purifies himself (from all kinds of sins), then he purifies only for the benefit of his ownself. And to Allâh is the (final) Return (of all).
And no burdened soul can bear another's burden, and if one heavy laden crieth for (help with) his load, naught of it will be lifted even though he (unto whom he crieth) be of kin. Thou warnest only those who fear their Lord in secret, and have established worship. He who groweth (in goodness), groweth only for himself, (he cannot by his merit redeem others). Unto Allah is the journeying.
Nor can a bearer of burdens bear another's burdens if one heavily laden should call another to (bear) his load. Not the least portion of it can be carried (by the other). Even though he be nearly related. Thou canst but admonish such as fear their Lord unseen and establish regular Prayer. And whoever purifies himself does so for the benefit of his own soul; and the destination (of all) is to Allah.
And a burdened soul cannot bear the burden of another and if one weighed down by burden should cry for (another to carry) its burden, not aught of it shall be carried, even though he be near of kin. You warn only those who fear their Lord in secret and keep up prayer; and whoever purifies himself, he purifies himself only for (the good of) his own soul; and to Allah is the eventual coming.
And no encumbered self can be encumbered with the encumbrance of (i.e. bear the burden of) another (self). And in case a heavy-burdened (self) calls for its burden (to be carried), not a thing of it will be carried, though he be a near kinsman. Surely you warn only (the ones) who are apprehensive of their Lord in the Unseen and keep up the prayer. And whoever cleanses himself, then he cleanses it for himself. (i.e., for his own benefit) And to Allah is the Destiny.
O mankind, fear your Lord and fear a Day when no father will avail his son, nor will a son avail his father at all. Indeed, the promise of Allāh is truth, so let not the worldly life delude you and be not deceived about Allāh by the Deceiver [i.e., Satan].
Verses with similar wording
They share a sequence of words with this verse: useful for telling them apart when memorising.
Whoever is guided is only guided for [the benefit of] his soul. And whoever errs only errs against it. And no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. And never would We punish until We sent a messenger.
Say, "Is it other than Allāh I should desire as a lord while He is the Lord of all things? And every soul earns not [blame] except against itself, and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you concerning that over which you used to differ."
If you disbelieve - indeed, Allāh is Free from need of you. And He does not approve for His servants disbelief. And if you are grateful, He approves [i.e., likes] it for you; and no bearer of burdens will bear the burden of another. Then to your Lord is your return, and He will inform you about what you used to do. Indeed, He is Knowing of that within the breasts.
